Thailand pushing hard for BRN to join Southern peace talks

[snoop1130]

Thailand pushing hard for BRN to join Southern peace talks

By Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter

 

Thailand's chief negotiator Gen. Udomchai Thamsarorat speaks Friday at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Thailand.

 

BANGKOK — Fresh attempts to open dialogue with separatists in the Deep South will include the most hard-line group for the first time, the new chief negotiator said Friday.

 

Gen. Udomchai Thamsarorat confirmed, albeit indirectly, that the National Revolutionary Front, or BRN, would be part of future multilateral discussions which in over six years have failed to defuse secessionist violence that has convulsed since 2004.

 

Full Story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2019/01/11/1464835868/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2019-1-11

[Srikcir]

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Gen. Udomchai Thamsarorat confirmed, albeit indirectly, that the National Revolutionary Front, or BRN, would be part of future multilateral discussions

“This dialogue will include every armed group,” Udomchai said to the more than 100 reporters gathered at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand when asked whether he would reach out to the BRN. “We will talk to each group separately.”

Pressed whether that meant the BRN, the former southern army chief replied, “You call them BRN but I would use the term ‘every armed group.’”

Udomchai has previously (as I recall) refused to recognize BRN as the insurgency's name. As trivial as that sounds, it represents the triviality in which the military has approached peace talks with the largest and most organized insurgency group.

It seems as if the military wants to project control over any peace talks (recently insisting that the military will set the guidelines for talks) to demonstrate that it is the Protector of the nation's sovereignty and thus the decider with regard to any Muslim autonomy issues. A sovereignty that ironically that the military overthrew.